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Syrian Leader Blames ‘Conspiracy’ for Turmoil

CAIRO — The much-anticipated speech by the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, on Wednesday was a well-choreographed effort to showcase his firm grip on power, as he refused to offer concessions and labeled pro-democracy demonstrators as either “duped” or as conspirators in a plot to destroy the nation.

There was none of the somber tone that might be expected after government forces killed dozens in the past two weeks and demonstrators in several cities challenged the president’s authority. Instead, the speech was a throwback to a vanishing era of leader worship, with audience members bounding from their seats to praise the president and crowds waving his picture.

Mr. Assad fell back on the strongman’s standard justification for holding on to power: “The first priority,” he said, “was the stability of Syria.”

Appearing relaxed throughout his brief remarks to Parliament, the president offered the simple message that he understood the practical concerns of the people but that he would allow for change only on his timetable. He did not call for an end to an emergency law imposed in 1963 and other laws that conferred extraordinary powers on the secret police, as many had expected.

He acknowledged that Syrians’ demands had not been met, but said that the grievances were “used as a cover to dupe the people to go to the streets.” He added that the state would not put any changes into effect under pressure. “We are not in favor of chaos and destruction.”

As for the recent unrest, he said it was both misguided and manufactured by saboteurs who want “to fragment Syria, to bring down Syria as a nation, to enforce an Israeli agenda.” Within hours of Mr. Assad’s speech, residents in the restive northern city of Latakia took to the streets in protest, and armed forces once again opened fire. Witnesses said two protesters were killed and one was wounded.

Mr. Assad, 45, has stayed out of sight for the past two weeks, during the most severe unrest the country has experienced in decades. That is a classic tactic for authoritarian leaders who want to heighten anticipation and appear indifferent to public pressure, political analysts said.

But expectations had been raised that he would call for an end to the emergency law and to his Baath Party’s monopoly on power, or at least a transition to a multiparty state. His own aides, and others close to the leadership, said the speech would offer historic proposals.

Those promises now appear to have been the wishful thinking by the aides, including his chief media adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban. Or they were part of a rhetorical bait and switch, a common practice of the Syrian government to offer and not deliver, analysts said. In reality, Mr. Assad has little room to maneuver without undermining his leadership. If he allows free speech, the demonstrations will only grow; if he ends the Baath Party’s rule, it is likely to lose an election.

What the speech did accomplish was to explode a narrative that had been written about the president since he took office 11 years ago: that his efforts at reform were being blocked by holdovers from the era of his father, Hafez al-Assad.

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“He was trying to show that he was in control, and that the stage of hope was over,” said Rime Allaf, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a London research group. “ ‘We are just as strong as we always were, and you can do what you want, it will not change anything.’ That was the message.” Analysts said the president may also have been confident because the protests had not turned into a national movement and did not involve Damascus, the capital.

The speech was unusually brief for Mr. Assad, who often gives ponderous and lengthy remarks in the tone of a university professor. He acknowledged that some of the public’s demands were legitimate, but said that for years reforms were stalled by circumstances beyond his control.

He also said it took time to carry out changes properly. That apparently did not take into account the speed with which Parliament changed the Constitution in order for Mr. Assad to become president. He was 34 when his father died, but the Constitution said no one under 40 could serve as president. Within a day, the age limit was changed to accommodate Mr. Assad.

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As the president arrived at the Parliament building on Wednesday, a crowd chanted “Allah, Syria and Bashar.” When he entered the chamber, legislators stood up and shouted, “The people want Bashar al-Assad.”

It was unclear how most Syrians would receive Mr. Assad’s speech. But some expressed anger and disappointment.

“The slogans of the protesters will change from ‘The people want to reform the regime’ to ‘The people want the fall of the regime,’ ” said Ammar Qurabi, chairman of the Syrian National Association for Human Rights, who was in Egypt at a conference. “Assad has proven that this is a regime that cannot change.”

Liam Stack contributed reporting from Cairo, and an employee of The New York Times from Damascus, Syria.

A version of this article appears in print on March 31, 2011, on Page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Syrian Leader Blames ‘Conspiracy’ for Turmoil. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe